[System: Mission! Hide and Seek in the Moonlight -Find the missing ‘Tempestuous Hatchling’.]

I stared at the system with bewildered eyes.

‘Where could Oscar have gone at this time of night?’

Seeing the empty room made me feel like all the blood had drained from my body.

‘I need to stay calm, especially at times like this.’

I tightly clenched my trembling hands and swallowed hard.

[System: You are Oscar the Black Dragon’s ‘One and Only Imprinter’

-Use your natural intuition.]

This was truly like grasping at clouds.

‘What natural intuition are you talking about?!’

My mind was blank as paper. What nonsense about intuition?

I always thought this was an unfriendly game, but no hints at all? I wondered if there could be a more vague mission than this.

Even though I wanted to calm down, I couldn’t stay still due to anxiety. I forced myself to take deep breaths.

First, I decided to organize my thoughts one by one.

‘He’s probably sulking because I left him alone.’

Although Leon said he explained beforehand, Oscar was still a child full of whims. It was entirely possible.

Let’s see, thinking back…

When I was late doing the library quest, Oscar was curled up under my bed. He also said he hides under my bed when he’s angry.

‘Could he be hiding under the bed?’

Well, my bed is Oscar’s nest after all. When anxious, he’d likely seek comfort in familiar places rather than avoid them.

“Oscar.”

I quickly bent down to look under the bed. Contrary to my expectations, Oscar wasn’t there.

‘Right. If he’s sulking, he might have deliberately hidden somewhere harder to find.’

I carefully surveyed the room, assessing places where Oscar might hide.

First, I flung open the wardrobe.

“Oscar?”

There was no answer when I called his name. Of course, Oscar wasn’t there either.

I searched all the places where Oscar might be hiding – under the desk, behind curtains, drawers – but came up empty.

“Did you wait long? I’m sorry.”

Even apologizing to thin air yielded no response.

Just in case, I searched Oscar’s room too. No matter how much I looked, not even a strand of hair was visible.

“…What should I do.”

When it finally sank in that Oscar really wasn’t in this room, anxiety began to surge.

I hurriedly left the room.

***

The mansion was turned upside down in the middle of the night.

It was shocking that Oscar, who had been sleeping quietly in his room, had vanished without a trace.

Leon, who had returned from the square, immediately took servants to search around the mansion. Viscount Hayworth took charge of the garden with other servants.

I was thoroughly searching inside the mansion with the maids.

‘If only the house were smaller, we’d find him quickly. Where on earth did he hide?’

As time passed, my chest tightened with growing anxiety.

The mansion was five stories tall. Like all noble houses, it was very large and spacious.

In other words, it wasn’t an easy place to find a hidden little hatchling.

“Jenny. Was there anything unusual before he went to bed?”

After searching for a while, I questioned the maids hoping to find some clue.

“No. He said he was sleepy, then bravely brushed his teeth by himself and changed into his pajamas alone.”

“He did all that by himself?”

“Yes.”

He usually whined for help when I was around, so doing it all alone was unexpected.

“B-but when I offered to pat him to sleep…”

“Hm?”

“W-well…”

Jenny was hesitating, seemingly conscious of my reaction.

“It’s okay, speak freely. Even small details could be clues. Don’t leave anything out.”

“…He told me to get lost.”

“Ah.”

Get lost? It seems he still used mean words occasionally when I wasn’t around.

“The young master seems to dislike anyone touching him. Except for you, my lady.”

Jenny, who usually loved children, seemed quite disappointed.

I thought Oscar had matured since he’d grown, but it seems his innate sensitivity hadn’t gone anywhere.

“Anything else? Laura, do you know anything?”

“The young master fell asleep much earlier than usual.”

“Is that all?”

“Just that before sleeping, he warned that if anyone entered the room…”

Laura was also hesitating. I sighed deeply and gestured for her to continue.

“Oscar’s not here now, so speak freely.”

“…He said he would kill them.”

This wasn’t a one-time thing.

Putting together what the maids said, it seemed he only pretended to be gentle in front of me.

At this point, I had to accept my hatchling’s personality issues.

“The young master must have been very sleepy.”

“That’s right. Everyone needs their alone time sometimes.”

When I remained silent with a stern face, the maids waved it off as if it were nothing unusual.

I sighed deeply and said.

“Don’t cover for him. Tell me whenever he says something mean. Once I find him, I need to correct that habit.”

“But Miss…”

This time, Jenny and Laura were exchanging glances, reading each other’s expressions.

“What is it? Hm? Why are you two the only ones who know?”

When I pressed them, they answered in turn.

“Please don’t scold him. The young master is exceptionally cute.”

“That’s right. When he acts tough and says those things, it just makes me want to pinch his cheeks.”

To find him cute despite his contempt and disdain. These girls must be out of their minds too.

‘Wait, they said he went to bed early.’

It was almost midnight. Something occurred to me that I needed to check.

“Girls, you said he went to bed earlier than usual. What time was that exactly?”

“He skipped dinner too. It was just past five o’clock, I think. Anyway, that’s why he went to bed early.”

Jenny answered with wide eyes.

‘So Oscar has been hungry for quite a while, huh?’

If that’s the case, I have an idea where he might be. It might sound absurd, but following the system’s advice, I decided to trust my intuition.

***

I arrived at the food storage warehouse with the maids.

[System: Mission Success! You have found the ‘Tempestuous Hatchling’.]

To cut to the chase, Oscar was found breathing on the warehouse floor.

‘No fever. Breathing normal. And this on his mouth…’

…bread crumbs.

I carefully wiped Oscar’s mouth. He must have fallen into a deep sleep, breathing steadily with soft snores.

‘As I thought. You were hungry.’

Oscar had fallen asleep clutching food in both hands. It was both pitiful and bizarre.

‘Either sleep or eat. Don’t do both.’

He was firmly gripping a baguette in his right hand and a large sausage in his left. He must have been very hungry, as there were traces of ravenous biting everywhere.

It was truly an impressive appetite.

The maids who followed me looked on in disbelief, staring at me with dumbfounded expressions.

Though the sausage and bread were large even for an adult, he wasn’t an ordinary child.

‘Hunger is what Oscar can’t stand the most.’

Since Oscar was a hatchling at a crucial growth stage, and dragons grow much faster than humans, I supposed it made sense.

Of course, I seemed to be the only one who could easily accept this.

‘At least we found him safe and sound.’

I sighed in relief as I wiped my brow. I removed the food from Oscar’s hands and lifted him into my arms.

Oscar must have been exhausted as he went limp in my arms without waking.

“So, girls, I have something important to tell you. Oscar must never skip dinner. Even if he throws a tantrum about being sleepy, make sure he eats before going to bed.”

Given his attitude behind my back, it wouldn’t be an easy task, but I thought it would be better if the maids knew this too.

Seeing the mess in the food storage, the maids nodded obediently.

“Jenny, could you bring some warm water and towels?”

“Towels?”

“Yes. As you can see, Oscar’s a mess. I want to clean him up while he’s sleeping.”

“Yes, Miss. I’ll prepare everything and bring it to your room. You must be tired, please go up first.”

Fortunately, Jenny didn’t seem to have any suspicions.

“Thank you, Jenny. And Laura.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Could you let Father and Leon know that we found Oscar?”

“Of course. I’ll tell them right away. Please get some rest, Miss.”

After giving the maids these simple errands, I returned to my room with Oscar.

“Whew. What a long day.”

Only after laying Oscar on the bed and tidying up could I finally sink into the bathtub.

I couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. I’d never taken a bath this late before.

After getting covered in dust while searching everywhere for Oscar, I had no choice but to bathe.

Perhaps it was the warm water, but a pleasant weariness enveloped my body.

I forced my drooping eyelids to stay open.

‘I’ll catch a cold if I fall asleep here. Better finish washing quickly.’

As I was about to wash my hair, my fingers caught on something.

‘This is…’

I carefully removed it to examine it. This was definitely the hairpin I saw at the street vendor. I remembered it clearly because I had handled it for quite a while.

‘Why is this in my hair?’

I hadn’t even tried it on, and I definitely put it back down.

It really had been a strange day.